Political arena

Cuomo, Klein release agendas

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This week, northwest Bronx state Sen. Jeff Klein announced his 2015 agenda as Gov. Andrew Cuomo began rolling out his own priorities for the coming year.

Highlights of the agenda from Mr. Klein and his breakaway group of Senate Democrats include increasing the minimum wage, establishing paid family leave, creating a school trust fund and more.

While Mr. Klein is no longer co-majority leader of the Senate, he said he hopes his priorities will still draw support from the Republican majority.

“I believe that I’m pushing core Democratic policies,” he said in a Monday phone interview. “But at the same time, I think Republicans have to be cognizant of the fact that the middle class and the working class are getting squeezed out of our state.”

Mr. Klein and his Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) called for cities and municipalities to gain the ability to raise their minimum wage up to 30 percent higher than the state’s rate. A bill from state Sen. Diane Savino of the IDC would allow New York City and other locations to increase their minimum wages as high as $11.70 per hour by 2016, when the state minimum wage is scheduled to reach $9 per hour.

The proposal puts the IDC at odds with Mr. Cuomo, who on Monday proposed minimum wages of $11.50 per hour in New York City and $10.50 an hour in the rest of the state in 2016 — while keeping power to make changes in the hands of the state alone.

Mr. Klein said his proposal was on par with calls last year from Mayor Bill de Blasio. After the senator pulled off a compromise between Mr. Cuomo and Mr. de Blasio on universal preschool in 2014, he could do the same again with the minimum wage.

The IDC’s 15-point agenda falls into categories of labor, education, making “vibrant and sustainable communities,” affordable housing and financial relief for working families and seniors.

Jeff Klein, Andrew Cuomo, minimum wage, affordable housing, NYCHA, Ruben Diaz Jr., Israel, Ydanis Rodriguez, Charles Rangel, Barack Obama, Cuba, Shant Shahrigian
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